the state department acknowledges that alan's work is illegal under cuban law. the u.s. program was created in 1996 to hasten the fall of the castro regime. roberta jacobson is the highest u.s. official to visit alan gross in jail. >> alan gross was not a spy. >> reporter: she believes cuba is using alan gross as leverage to change u.s. policy. >> if they believe mr. gross is a bargaining chip he's not. he's not in a policy sense. and he's not as a human being. >> reporter: recently the cuban government offered to trade alan gross for five convicted cuban spies. the u.s. refused to release them. in the meantime alan gross's health has suffered. since his arrest he's lost over 100 pounds and his family is under strain. >> i've lost 80% of salary. i'm working full time and then i come home and i have almost another full time job working on bringing alan home. >> reporter: judy is suing the u.s. government and dai for up to $60 million. she claims they did not properly train alan for risks of working in cuba. >> the government sent him there and i'm footing the bill to try